Merchandise display device



Patented Mar. 20, 1934 MEEECHANDESE DISPLAY DEVICE Claude W. Kress, New York, N. Y.

Application February 4 3 @laims.

My invention relates in general to store fixtures and refers particularly to display devices for merchandise of various kinds.

The merchandise display device of my invention has been devised to replace usual shelving heretofore commonly used and which, is well known, does not provide an adequate nor an artistic display of the goods thereon.

When on a shelf, only the front row of pack ages or the merchandise at the immediate front of the shelf is visible and then only in front View.

The device of my invention is so constructed that a clear and unobstructed view may be had both from the front and over the top, of goods or merchandise, which may be thus more fully exposed to view as well as also more artistically displayed, either in original packages or other-- wise, as desired or as may prove more advantageous in any particular instance. Thus the dis- 20 play device of my invention has a wide field of utility in displaying for sale an extensive variety of different kinds of goods.

Thedevice of my invention provides a fonwardly and downwardly inclined shelf-like floor plate member, with a transparent upstanding front guard ledge element. A vertical series of such floor plate members, each with its front ledge, are of upwardly decreasing width or extent of forward projection from a suitable ver tically extending main support or back board. This provides a unitary device which may be placed anywhere with its back to a wall space. The shelf members may desirably be glassplates readily replaceably supported upon bracket arms, while the front ledges are narrower readily removable and replaceable transparent glass plates, yet securely held in place by means of suitably formed upward extensions from the outer ends of the bracket arms. Various particular fea- 40 tures of construction and combinations of parts are embraced in my invention, as will appear from the following description.

For a clear and complete understanding of the display device of my invention, it will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawing, illustrating one embodiment thereof and in which similar parts are indicated by similar reference numerals.

Figure 1 is a vertical section on the line l-1 of Figure 2 of a display device embodying my invention, with the upper and lower parts of such device broken away and omitted for conserving space on the sheet of drawing.

Figure 2 is a plan View of what is shown in Figure 1.

, 1933, Serial No. 655,158

Figure 3 is an enlarged partial vertical section taken on theline 3--3 of Figure 2.

The merchandise display device, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, as one embodiment of my invention, has a vertical back board 11 constituting a main supporting and positioning part upon which the other parts comprised in the complete unitary device are mounted. The sectional part of the device shown in the drawing will be described with the understanding that the omitted upper and lower parts are of a sub stantially similar construction with regard to their component elements. The extent of such up" ward and downward extension of the device beyond what appears in Figure 1 is to be determined by conditions of use and convenience, according to particular circumstances.

A pair of artistically as well as usefully shaped bracket arms 12, 12 are strongly secured by means of long screws 13, 13, which pass through the back board 1 and screw into the rear ends of these arms, which fit tightly against the flat front surface of their mounting board 1. The bracket arms 12, 12 may be of wood, which is indicated in the drawing, but it is obvious that they could be of metal. These bracket arms 12, 12 have a straight upper supporting face which inclines downwardly from rear to front at a chosen desirable angle which may be substantially that shown in Figure 1. These arms are shown as tapering forwardly in vertical planes and terminating in a downwardly rounded thickened front end.

The front ends of the bracket arms 12, 12 respectively carry vertically upstanding bracket extensions 1 1, 14, which are shown as separate pieces firmly and ri idly secured to these bracket arms. In the construction shown, each such bracket extension has a rearwardly extending foot 15 countersunk flush with the upper face of the arm 12 to which it is attached by means of countersunk screws l6, 16 passing through this foot and screwing downwardly into the thickened end portion of the arm 12. The upper end portion of each such bracket extension 1 1 is turned rearwardly and downwardly in the form of a substantially rectangular hook 17.

The goods to be displayed for sale are placed upon glass floor plate 18 which is simply laid upon the bracket arms 1, 12, from which it is prevented from slipping oil forwardly by the bracket extensions 14, i l, against which the forward edge of this plate 18 may desirably abut, as shown in the drawing. A transparent glass guard plate 19, of suitable convenient width, is

vertically disposed on edge to abut against the flat rear faces of the upright bracket extensions 14, 1a, with its upper edge securely held in place by the downturned hooks 17, 1'7 and is shown as supported at its lower edge upon the front margin of the glass floor plate 13.

lhis particular arrangement provides first installing the floor plate 18, then subsequently installing the ledge plate 19 by first passing its upper edge upwardly into the hooks 17, 1'7, or at the front of their downwardly projecting ends, the same partly angular movement serving to bring the lower edge of this guard ledge into the position shown in the drawing and as above described. Merely by reversing this procedure, the guard ledge plate 19 and the floor plate 18 may be successively conveniently removed. Other obvious procedures may be followed, also other obvious relative arrangements of these plates 18 and 19 may be made. As a matter of convenience, the bracket arms 12, 12 are shown as of somewhat greater length than the width of the glass floor plate 18.

A lower pair of bracket arms 12A, 12A is shown as in part making up the vertical series of such arms. These lower arms 12A, 12A are somewhat longer than the upper bracket arms 12, 12, and similarly disposed and arranged to project forwardly and downwardly at same angle as the upper arms 12, 12. This lower pair of bracket arms have a glass floor plate 18A laid upon their straight upper faces, this plate 18A being similar to, but somewhat wider than, the other floor plate 18, but with its rear edge conveniently spaced substantially to the same extent from the back board 1.

The remaining parts and features of this lower construction, to hold merchandise displayed for sale, having the bracket arms 12A, 12A, are shown as identical in all respects with those above described with reference to the upper bracket arms 12, 12. Accordingly, the same reference numerals have been applied to these identical parts which are employed in combination with the longer bracket arms 12A, 12A, and similarly the same description applies in a substantially similar manner.

It will be noted that by reason of the lower bracket arms 12A, 12A extending forwardly to a vertical plane in advance of the upper bracket arms 12, 12, together with the consequent farther forward positioning of the glass front ledge plate 19, held in place by the hooks 17, 17 of the upright extensions i l, 14 carried by these longer bracket arms 12A, 12A, it will be evident that a clear and unobstructed view is presented of the top of merchandise displayed on the lower glass floor plate 18A, the forward inclination of this floor plate 18A contributing to this advantageous result. The same is true of the upper glass floor plate 18. Also, in each instance, the transparent glass front upright guard ledge plate 19 contributes greatly to a clear and unobstructed front view of the goods displayed for sale upon each of the glass floor plates 18 and 18A and also is effective as a guard to prevent such goods from sliding oil the door plates or from becoming dislodged therefrom lorwardly from any cause.

While bracket arms 12, 12 and 12A, 12A of only two dinerent lengths, together with their corresponding glass floor plates 18 and 18A of different widths, are shown in the drawing for the purpose of illustration, it is to be distinctly understood that the vertical series of such bracket arms and .lloor plates are to be extended both upwardly and downwardly to whatever extent should be found to be advantageous for display purposes. Such pairs or sets of bracket arms may desirably extend forwardly from the r-iain mounting support or back board 11 to a successively uniformly decreasing extent upwardly in the vertical series thereof. Thus there may be one or more pairs of successively shorter bracket arms similarly installed on the back board 11 above the upper pair of such arms 12, to carry thereon successively n ower successively longer pairs of bracket -15 Jailed on the lower portion of the backboard 1 below the lower pair of such arms 1 A, 1213 with succe. sively wider glass floor plates than the floor plate 18A; in eachinstance each such pair or set of bracket arms carrying similar upright end extensions such as 14, 14 and sir. g] .-,,s front guard ledge plates such as 19, 19.

It is also to be further understood as obvious that instead of only two or a air of bracket arms such as 12, 12 and 12A, there may be any desired larger number of such bracket arms in a horizontally aligned oreof, and correspondingly if so desired the glass floor plates such as 18 and 18A may be of greater length. However, a floor plate which is not of undue or excessive length and supported upon a pair of the bracket arms, together with a main mounting board 11 of correspondingly limited width, all as shown in the drawing, has been found to have particular advantages. The back board 11 may be supported in any convenient way (not shown), such as by attaching it to an adjacent wall or otherwise, this being considered as unnecessary to illustrate and particularly describe.

It will now be evident of the display sales device of my invention that goods or merchandise, in any saleable form, carried thereby may be clearly seen to an extensive extent by customers, both in front view and also at an effective downward angle in top View. Merely for example, the device of my invention, constructed substantially in the manner shown in the accompanying drawing, has been put into use with decided advantages in the display and sale of hosiery, altho it is by no means thus limited and obviously may be similarly advantageously utilized for the sales display of a large number of different kinds of merchandise, which may be thus displayed in an artistic and attractive manner.

It is thought that the construction, manner of operation and utility of the unitary merchandise display device of my invention have now been fully and clearly escribed, with reference to the illustrated embodiment thereof.

I do not limit myself to particular sizes, materials, relations of parts, or minor details of construction, these being given simply as a means for clearly describing the device of my invention, the scope of which is pointed out in the appended claims.

What I claim is:-

1. In a display device, in combination, a Vertically and horizontally extended mounting board, a vertical series of vertically spaced pairs of horizontally spaced forwardly and downwardly iii-- clined bracket arms of equal length for each of said pairs rigidly mounted on said board at the front thereof with the bracket arms of the successive pairs in said vertical series extending forwardly from said board to a successively uniformly decreasing extent upwardly in said series, an upstanding extension rigidly carried by the front end of each of said bracket arms, a rear downturned hook on the upper end of each of said extensions, a forwardly and downwardly inclined floor plate supported upon the upper faces of the bracket arms of each of said pairs thereof, and an upright transparent glass front guard plate joined in abutting contact relation with each of said inclined floor plates and held in place in unattached removable and replaceable relation at the front edge of each of said floor plates by said extensions and their hooks with the latter engaging downwardly at the rear of the upper edge portion of said front guard plate for each said pair of bracket arms comprised in said vertical series of said pairs.

2. In a display device, in combination, a vertically and horizontally extended mounting board, a vertical series of vertically spaced pairs of hori- Zontally spaced forwardly and downwardly inclined bracket arms of equal length for each of said pairs rigidly mounted on said board at the front thereof with the bracket arms of the successive pairs in said vertical series extending forwardly from said board to a successively uniformly decreasing extent upwardly in said series, an upstanding extension. rigidly carried by the front end of each of said bracket arms with all of said extensions of the same height, a rear downturned hook on the upper end of each of said extensions, a forwardly and downwardly inclined glass fioor plate supported in unattached.

removable and replaceable relation upon the upper faces of the bracket arms of each of said pairs thereof with such floor plates of successively decreasing width upwardly in said vertical series thereof, and an upright transparent glass front guard plate joined in abutting contact relation with each of said inclined floor plates and held in place in unattached removable and replaceable relation at the front edge of each of said floor plates by said extensions and their hooks with the latter engaging downwardly at the rear edge of the upper portion of said front guard plate for each said pair of bracket arms comprised in said vertical series of said pairs, all of said guard plates being of the same height.

3. In a display device, in combination, a vertically and horizontally extended main support, a plurality of horizontally spaced forwardly and downwardly inclined bracket arms of equal length rigidly mounted on said main support at the front thereof, an upstanding extension rigidly carried by the front end of each of said bracket arms with all of said extensions of the same height, a rear downturned hook on the upper end of each of said extensions, a glass floor plate supported in unattached removable and replaceable relation upon the upper faces of said bracket arms, and an upright transparent glass front guard joined in abutting compact relation with said floor plate and held in place in unattached removable and replaceable relation at the front edge of said floor plate by said extensions and their downturned hooks with the latter engaging downwardly at the rear edge of the upper portion of said front guard plate thereby to maintain the latter in its upright position.

CLAUDE W. KRESS. 

